On one occasion, Pizarro, the great explorer of South America realized that weariness and discouragement were about to overcome his Castilian men. Drawing a line in the sand and pointing south to the unexplored regions, Pizarro said, “On that side are toil, hunger, nakedness, the drenching storm, desertion, and death; on this side are ease and pleasure. Choose, each man, what becomes a brave Castilian. For my part, I go to the south.”
The true Christ challenges us to boldness, daring, commitment, and costly sacrifice, if we choose to join his band of followers.
In the words of one writer, “The challenging Christ presents no rocking-chair religion, no peace of mind pap, no come-in-and-be-saved-and-take-it easy-from-now-on ideology. No escape from life. He invites us to enter his kingdom. He challenges us to allow God sovereignty over our lives. He challenges us to take God seriously. He challenges us to enter the spiritual realm where God is Lord, indeed. What a great challenge to accept! A new way of life. A new power for our bungling efforts.” (H. S. Vigeveno, Jesus the Revolutionary)
Jesus’ challenge to “seek first the kingdom of God” is to seek to pursue the rule of Christ in every sphere of life. It is seeking to bring about Christ’s righteous standards in the culture through our influence as salt and light, seeking to bring others to surrender to the rule of Christ in their lives by sharing the gospel with them. It means seeking to understand and implement Christ’s agenda in your marriage, family, work place, church, neighborhood, etc.
We are called to follow King Jesus in the conquest of this entire world, spreading his kingdom geographically to the ends of the earth, and spiritually to the very gates of hell itself.
Jesus was clear about the cost of following him. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matt 16:24-26.)
The kingdom of God is not cheap. Salvation is a free gift and believers are saved by faith through grace alone. But if you reach out and receive the gift, it will cost you your life. You are choosing a life-style of saying “no” to self, in order to say “yes” to God.
When this commander of men strides into our lives, and says, “Follow me,” he does not ask us to check our masculinity at the door. He draws a line in the sand, then lays down a challenge that appeals to every ounce of our testosterone. “On that side are comfort, ease, pleasure, security. On this side is a fight to the death for the kingdom of God to expand over planet earth. Choose this day which King and which kingdom you will serve.”
Do you need to renew your commitment to pay the price to follow him?
If you want to find more inspiration similar to this artilce check out the Allegiance Men's Devotional by clicking here.
